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Russia slashes key refinancing rates

04 June 2009 11:00 (UTC +04:00)

Baku- APA-Economics. Russia’s central bank announced a half-percent cut in its main interest rates, its third cut since the end of April to stimulate the crisis-hit economy as the ruble stabilises.
The bank’s board of directors decided to cut the key refinancing rate, effective on Friday, to 11.5 percent from 12.0 percent, the central bank said in a statement published on its website.
The cut was the second in less than a month after the bank on May 14 cut the refinancing rate to 12 percent from 12.5 percent.
Russia at the end of April cut the refinancing rate to 12.5 percent from 13 percent in its first interest rate cut since 2007. In November, it hiked interest rates one percent to protect the ruble.
Earlier this year, the ruble came under sustained pressure on the markets, forcing the central bank to shell out tens of billions of dollars in foreign currency interventions to prop up the currency.
But the pressure has receded since the government implemented a controlled devaluation of the currency to help the economy cope with the global crisis. Source: AFP